Originally Posted by
Duragrouch
Well, I went to the Dahon dealer when I became aware of the handlepost recall. They swapped out the lower post quick, just lifted off the upper and didn't need to pull off the bars or anything. I loaded the folded bike in my car, took it home. It wasn't until the next day I noticed that the bars now canted to the left; The bore for the steering tube was out of square with the rest of the lower assembly. Called the LBS, they had already trashed my old lower. Contacted Dahon, sent them a pic from behind the bike showing seatpost and handlebar post now not parallel in the rear view, nope, no new lower. I've run across this in other industries; Something out of production tolerance? Don't trash it, use it as service parts. I wish I had tried to determine the cause of the recall before bringing the bike in, if a defect in the structure or latch, or just the safety catch; Everything seemed to work fine on my original base.
The LBS screwed up by not installing an entirely new handlepost, and tried to save parts, so Dahon was right in this instance. BUT...Dahon is so damn annoying to get assistance from. I was lucky that the USA rep was a member of the forums, and he DID try to get Dahon to replace the handlepost for free - they refused. Now, he's retired, and we have no one we can actually speak with. That's why I tend to recommend Zizzo and Origami bikes so much. That ability to speak DIRECTLY with someone is a major influence for me. It's not about being "American Made" either, since we should all know these are bikes manufactured and assembled overseas. It's just about getting help with a product. Tern, they're back in the good graces of the public (which is fantastic IMO), Dahon is rapidly losing respect (because of greed and neglecting their base), and the two companies I've mention I have great respect for BECAUSE of their customer service and ability to put out a decent bike for a respectable price point for North America. I wish we could easily get brands like Java and FnHon easier, and had someone to assist when needed, bit that's a pipe dream on my part.